How popular is the baby name Elijah in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Elijah.

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Popularity of the baby name Elijah


Posts that mention the name Elijah

Popular baby names in Virginia, 2023

Flag of Virginia
Flag of Virginia

Last year, the Commonwealth of Virginia — which is home to more than 8.7 million people — welcomed roughly 95,000 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Charlotte and Liam, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s Office of Vital Records.

Here are Virginia’s top 15 girl names and top 15 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Charlotte
  2. Emma
  3. Olivia*
  4. Sophia
  5. Amelia
  6. Evelyn
  7. Ava
  8. Isabella
  9. Elizabeth
  10. Mia
  11. Eleanor
  12. Harper
  13. Sofia
  14. Luna
  15. Abigail

*In the news release, Olivia was spelled “Oliva.” I’m assuming this was a typo.

Boy names

  1. Liam
  2. Noah
  3. James
  4. Oliver
  5. William
  6. Lucas
  7. Henry
  8. Theodore
  9. Benjamin
  10. Levi
  11. Elijah
  12. Luke
  13. John
  14. Michael
  15. Gabriel

The state also revealed the top names within each of its four largest ethnic groups: White, Black, Hispanic and Asian. (According to the most recent CDC data, from 2021, 54.3% of Virginia’s babies were born to non-Hispanic White mothers, 20.0% to Black mothers, 15.7% to Hispanic mothers, and 7.3% to Asian mothers.)

These were the top 5 girl names and 5 boy names among Virginia’s White babies:

Girl names, WhiteBoy names, White
1. Charlotte
2. Olivia
3. Emma
4. Amelia
5. Sophia		1. James
2. William
3. Oliver
4. Henry
5. Liam

These were the top 5 girl names and 5 boy names among Virginia’s Black babies:

Girl names, BlackBoy names, Black
1. Ava
2. Naomi
3. Nova
4. Serenity
5. Autumn		1. Noah
2. Amir
3. Josiah
4. Elijah
5. Legend

These were the top 5 girl names and 5 boy names among Virginia’s Hispanic babies:

Girl names, HispanicBoy names, Hispanic
1. Mia
2. Camila*
3. Genesis*
4. Isabella
5. Sofia		1. Liam
2. Mateo
3. Dylan
4. Thiago
5. Lucas

*In the news release, Camila and Genesis were spelled “Camilla” and “Genisis.” I’m assuming these were typos as well.

And, finally, these were the top 5 girl names and 5 boy names among Virginia’s Asian babies:

Girl names, AsianBoy names, Asian
1. Olivia
2. Ava
3. Sophia
4. Sophie
5. Charlotte		1. Noah
2. Lucas
3. Muhammad
4. Ethan
5. Alexander

Here’s a link to Virginia’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Virginia (public domain)

Preliminary 2023 baby name rankings for four U.S. states

peeking nun

Want to take a peek into the future?

The year isn’t over yet, but that hasn’t stopped several regional governments from releasing provisional baby name rankings for 2023.

At least four U.S. states have put out their top baby names of 2023 already, for instance. Let’s check them out, starting in the east and moving westward…

Rhode Island

According to the Rhode Island Department of Health, these were the state’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023.

Top girl names, RITop boy names, RI
1. Charlotte
2. Sophia
3. Olivia
4. Amelia
5. Emma
6. Nora
7. Luna
8. Isabella
9. Mia
10. Isla		1. Noah
2. Liam
3. James
4. Theodore
5. Lucas
6. Michael
7. Julian
8. Benjamin
9. Henry
10. Luca

Mississippi

According to the Mississippi State Department of Health, these were the state’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023.

Top girl names, MSTop boy names, MS
1. Ava
2. Amelia
3. Olivia
4. Charlotte
5. Harper
6. Elizabeth
7. Emma
8. Mary
9. Nova
10. Evelyn		1. John
2. James
3. William
4. Elijah
5. Noah
6. Liam
7. Waylon
8. Mason
9. Grayson
10. Asher

New Mexico

According to the New Mexico Department of Health, these were the state’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023.

Top girl names, NMTop boy names, NM
1. Olivia
2. Amelia
3. Isabella
4. Emma
5. Sofia
6. Mia
7. Sophia
8. Aria
9. Luna
10. Camila		1. Liam
2. Mateo
3. Noah
4. Santiago
5. Ezekiel
6. Elijah
7. Josiah
8. Sebastian
9. Ezra
10. Julian

Arizona

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, these were the state’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2023.

Top girl names, AZTop boy names, AZ
1. Olivia
2. Isabella
3. Emma
4. Mia
5. Camila
6. Sophia
7. Amelia
8. Charlotte
9. Evelyn
10. Luna		1. Liam
2. Mateo
3. Noah
4. Oliver
5. Santiago
6. Elijah
7. Sebastian
8. Ezra
9. Levi
10. Benjamin

Several regions outside the U.S. have also released their 2023 baby name rankings already. Here’s what I’ve spotted so far…

RegionTop names
British Columbia (Canada)Olivia & Noah
New Brunswick (Canada)Olivia & Liam
Nova Scotia (Canada)Olivia & Henry
P.E.I. (Canada)Sadie/Sophie & Jack
ACT/Canberra (Australia)Amelia/Charlotte & Henry
South Australia (Australia)Isla & Oliver
Western Australia (Australia)Isla & Oliver

Have you seen any others?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from A trompe l’œil with a young nun peeking out through a shutter (public domain)

Popular baby names in Australia, 2022

Flag of Australia
Flag of Australia

In 2022, Australia — which boasts a large number of endemic animals (e.g., koala, kangaroo, wallaby, wombat, dingo) — welcomed 300,684 human babies: 146,403 girls and 154,281 boys.

What were the most popular names among Australia’s newborns last year?

Well…we don’t know for sure. Because Australia doesn’t release baby name rankings that cover the entire country.

So let’s take a look at eight sets of regional Australian rankings — representing Australia’s six states and two most populous territories — and make a guess about the country’s top names overall.

Here are the rankings, ordered by total number of births per region (highest to lowest):

New South Wales

Last year, New South Wales welcomed 95,758 (31.8%) of Australia’s babies. Here are NSW’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl names, NSWBoy names, NSW
1. Charlotte, 430
2. Amelia, 425
3. Isla, 403
4. Olivia, 401
5. Mia, 363
6. Ava, 343
7. Ella, 331
8. Matilda, 318
9. Sienna, 293
10. Willow, 288		1. Noah, 630
2. Oliver, 628
3. Leo, 447
4. William, 427
5. Theodore, 404
6. Jack, 381
7. Luca, 367 (tie)
8. Henry, 367 (tie)
9. Thomas, 348
10. Charlie, 334

Victoria

Last year, Victoria welcomed 76,187 (25.3%) of Australia’s babies. Here are Victoria’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl names, VictoriaBoy names, Victoria
1. Charlotte, 367
2. Amelia, 356
3. Isla, 345 (tie)
4. Mia, 345 (tie)
5. Olivia, 326
6. Matilda, 296
7. Ava, 293
8. Ella, 283 (tie)
9. Grace, 283 (tie)
10. Hazel, 266		1. Oliver, 593
2. Noah, 503
3. Jack, 416
4. Leo, 408
5. Henry, 354
6. Charlie, 344
7. William, 328
8. Theodore, 326
9. Thomas, 282
10. Hudson, 274

Queensland

Last year, Queensland welcomed 62,313 (20.7%) of Australia’s babies. Here are Queensland’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl names, QueenslandBoy names, Queensland
1. Amelia, 321
2. Charlotte, 308
3. Isla, 296
4. Olivia, 285
5. Ava, 250
6. Mia, 245
7. Willow, 233
8. Matilda, 232
9. Lily, 228
10. Ella, 216		1. Oliver, 539
2. Noah, 393
3. William, 359
4. Hudson, 357
5. Henry, 341
6. Theodore, 340
7. Leo, 332
8. Charlie, 276
9. Jack, 267
10. Luca, 257

Western Australia

Last year, Western Australia welcomed 31,474 (10.5%) of Australia’s babies. Here are WA’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl names, Western Aus.Boy names, Western Aus.
1. Isla, 162
2. Amelia, 150 (tie)
3. Olivia, 150 (tie)
4. Charlotte, 126
5. Mia, 122
6. Lily, 116 (tie)
7. Grace, 116 (tie)
8. Harper, 113 (tie)
9. Ava, 113 (tie)
10. Willow, 105		1. Oliver, 260
2. Noah, 178
3. Leo, 171
4. Charlie, 151
5. Jack, 140
6. Hudson, 136 (tie)
7. Thomas, 136 (tie)
8. Theodore, 132
9. Henry, 131
10. Levi/James/Luca, 124 each (3-way tie)

South Australia

Last year, South Australia welcomed 19,502 (6.5%) of Australia’s babies. Here are SA’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl names, South Aus.Boy names, South Aus.
1. Isla, 111
2. Charlotte, 110
3. Amelia, 89
4. Willow, 84
5. Grace, 82
6. Olivia, 81
7. Lily, 75
8. Ella/Harper/Matilda/Mia, 72 each (4-way tie)		1. Oliver, 181
2. Noah, 142
3. Henry, 121
4. Leo, 108
5. Archie, 107
6. William, 93
7. Hudson, 90
8. Luca, 87
9. Charlie, 83 (tie)
10. Thomas, 83 (tie)

Australian Capital Territory

Last year, the ACT (Canberra) welcomed 6,375 (2.1%) of Australia’s babies. Here are the ACT’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl names, ACTBoy names, ACT
1. Charlotte
2. Isla
3. Evelyn
4. Amelia
5. Zoe
6. Ella (tie)
7. Hazel (tie)
8. Ava/Freya/Grace/Olivia (4-way tie)		1. Oliver
2. Henry
3. William
4. Leo
5. Theodore
6. Noah
7. Arthur
8. George (tie)
9. Thomas (tie)
10. Elijah/Levi/Lucas (3-way tie)

Tasmania

Last year, Tasmania welcomed 5,498 (1.8%) of Australia’s babies. Here are Tasmania’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl names, TasmaniaBoy names, Tasmania
1. Grace
2. Willow
3. Charlotte
4. Mia
5. Matilda
6. Hazel
7. Elsie
8. Harper
9. Isla
10. Daisy		1. Oliver
2. Henry
3. George
4. Hudson
5. Archie
6. Noah
7. Theodore
8. Charlie
9. Leo
10. Jack

Northern Territory

Last year, Northern Territory welcomed 3,577 (1.2%) of Australia’s babies. Here are NT’s top baby names of 2022:

Girl names, NTBoy names, NT
1. Charlotte, 18
2. Matilda, 16
3. Ava, 14
4. Amelia, 13 (3-way tie)
5. Ella, 13 (3-way tie)
6. Isla, 13 (3-way tie)
7. Harper, 12 (tie)
8. Isabella, 12 (tie)
9. Grace, 9
10. Frankie/Ruby/Sadie/Willow, 8 each (4-way tie)		1. Noah, 16 (tie)
2. William, 16 (tie)
3. Levi, 14
4. Michael, 12 (tie)
5. Xavier, 12 (tie)
6. Hudson, 11 (3-way tie)
7. Jack, 11 (3-way tie)
8. James, 11 (3-way tie)
9. Archer/Harry/Lucas, 10 each (3-way tie)
map of Australia

Australia overall

Finally, using the data above, let’s make a guess about Australia’s top baby names overall. Here’s what I came up with:

Australia’s top girl names (possibly)Australia’s top boy names (possibly)
1. Charlotte
2. Amelia
3. Isla
4. Olivia
5. Mia		1. Oliver
2. Noah
3. Leo
4. Henry
5. William

What are your thoughts on these? Would you have ranked them differently?

(My guesses regarding Australia’s top names of 2021 had Isla and Oliver in the top spots.)

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Australia (public domain)
Map: Adapted from Australia location map by NordNordWest under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Popular and unique baby names in Iowa, 2022

Flag of Iowa
Flag of Iowa

Did you know that Iowa is the only U.S. state bordered by two navigable rivers (i.e., rivers used for interstate commerce)? Its eastern border is formed by the Mississippi River, and its western border is formed by the Missouri River (for the most part).

Last year, the state’s most popular baby names were Olivia and Oliver, according to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services

Here are Iowa’s top 20 girl names and top 20+ boy names of 2022:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 173 baby girls
  2. Charlotte, 155
  3. Ava, 130
  4. Emma, 122
  5. Amelia, 118
  6. Evelyn, 114
  7. Harper, 109
  8. Eleanor, 105
  9. Hazel, 94
  10. Nora, 93
  11. Scarlett, 91
  12. Ellie, 89
  13. Sophia, 85
  14. Avery, 84
  15. Ivy, 83
  16. Violet, 82
  17. Isabella, 78
  18. Grace, 74 (tie)
  19. Willow, 74 (tie)
  20. Aurora, 67

Boy names

  1. Oliver, 198 baby boys
  2. Liam, 180
  3. Theodore, 163
  4. Henry, 156
  5. William, 127
  6. Leo, 122
  7. Hudson, 121
  8. Jack, 119 (tie)
  9. Owen, 119 (tie)
  10. James, 118
  11. Brooks, 115
  12. Asher, 112
  13. Wyatt, 108
  14. Elijah, 107
  15. Maverick, 101
  16. Noah, 98
  17. Bennett, 90 (tie)
  18. Cooper, 90 (tie)
  19. Jackson, 88
  20. Lincoln, 87 (tie)
  21. Lucas, 87 (tie)

The SSA’s rankings for Iowa are largely (though not exactly) the same.

Now for the fun part — unique names!

In total, 3,680 (67%) of the girl names and 2,801 (58%) of the boy names bestowed in Iowa last year were given to a single baby. Here’s a selection of Iowa’s unique baby names of 2022:

Unique girl namesUnique boy names
Alini, Brillith, Clovianna, Demri, Eleen, Fienne, Giantra, Hinata, Idara, Jimmilah, Ketsia, Lithena, Meridia, Nashley, Prinsha, Quinlyn, Rencalina, Simrat, Tauren, Uniti, Velzy, Weaver, Xella, Yusali, ZevlynAckley, Berrick, Clandson, Dazin, Eitan, Faron, Grayler, Hemby, Indie, Jefrin, Kindness, Lijah, Maiti, Noriel, Olten, Percy, Quineal, Raul, Solanus, Trendale, Ukiyo, Vaylor, Westlan, Xanthos, Yannick, Zario

Some of the single-use noun-names I spotted were Fjord (boy), Badger (boy), Minnow (girl), Sparrow (girl), Lithium (boy), and Paprika (girl).

I also noticed the name Caladan (boy), which was likely inspired by the planet Caladan from the movie Dune: Part One, which was released in late 2021.

Speaking of 2021…here’s a link to Iowa’s 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Baby Names – Iowa Health & Human Services, Iowa – Wikipedia, Iowa’s Waterway System – Iowa DOT

Image: Adapted from Flag of Iowa (public domain)